Lawn edging devices used to create grass-impenetrable borders around gardens, flower beds, trees and the like typically fall into one of two groups. One group consists of edging that requires a trench to be excavated along the desired layout of the edging. Examples of such edging include brick, concrete blocks, flexible plastic edging strips, and wood. Once the edging is placed in the trench, the trench is back filled along the edging. As can be appreciated, the task of trenching and back filling is a time consuming and arduous task. Furthermore, achieving a straight line across the top of the edging as well as a constant vertical alignment of the edging while back filling the trench is cumbersome and requires precise trenching and backfilling.
The second group of edging consists of rigid metal edging that can be driven directly into the ground without trenching. However, there are drawbacks with metal edging. First, metal edging is typically painted and the paint chips and flakes over time. This and rusting of the metal edging affects the aesthetics of the edging. Also, the edges of the metal edging are typically narrow enough to pose a significant safety hazard. Children playing in the yard or people performing yard work around the edging run the risk of stepping or stumbling against the edging and being cut by the metal edges. Also, installation of metal edging is cumbersome in that separate stakes are required that are positioned along the edging and hammered into the ground to force the edging into the ground. These separate stakes are an additional safety hazard because the top of the stake may rise above the top of the edging and pose an additional risk of snagging or cutting a person.
Plastic edging devices intended to replace metal edging, for example flexible black edging that can be bought in rolls, is safer, however, such edging still requires trenching as discussed above and stakes to secure the black plastic edging in place.
Therefore, a need exists for a lawn edging device that overcomes the drawbacks of the two general types of existing edging. Specifically there is a need for edging that can be inserted into the ground without the need for trenching or stakes while at the same time being rust free, of uniform color and safe. Furthermore, a need exists for such an edging device that can be inserted into the ground in proper vertical alignment. Additionally, such an edging device should be rigid enough to withstand hammering of the edging into the ground yet be flexible enough in a horizontal direction to allow for curving of the edging.
Another limitation of conventional edging devices is the lack of versatility due to the inability to readily create sharp corners in the edging while still maintaining the aesthetic continuity of the top of the edging. Therefore, a further need exists for an edging device that can be used to create sharp corners.
Additionally, while some edging devices provide connections between adjacent sections of edging, and other edging devices can be cut to a shorter length, edging devices cannot be shortened and still provide two ends for connection to adjacent sections of edging. Therefore, a further need exists for an edging device that can be shortened as desired yet still have two ends for connection to adjacent sections of edging.